ST. PAUL, Minn. — UND fans filled the south side of Grand Casino Arena like usual Sunday night.

This time, they finally got to celebrate again.

UND played its best game in downtown St. Paul in years, beating St. Thomas 5-2 in the home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.

Defenseman Jake Livanavage scored a goal and tallied three points. Highly touted rookie forwards Cole Reschny and Will Zellers scored their first collegiate goals and tallied two points. Ellis Rickwood and Abram Wiebe also scored and had two-point games.

It added up to a season-opening sweep for a UND team playing its first games under coach Dane Jackson.

“We were buying in, blocking shots and managing the puck way better,” Jackson said. “Our staff talked to our group about putting pucks ahead when we had to. I saw Will Zellers and some of those offensive guys taking pride in that. Guys were cheering on the bench when they saw Willy do that. It’s a mindset that guys wanted to do the right things, gain respect from their teammates and coaches. That was a big takeaway from me.”

Grand Casino Arena, formerly known as Xcel Energy Center, had become a place of nightmares for UND since it won three straight Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Fives in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The Fighting Hawks went 1-6 in their next seven in the building, including season-ending losses in 2018, 2023 and 2025. UND athletic director Bill Chaves fired coach Brad Berry two days after UND’s season-ending loss in March.

The Fighting Hawks never trailed Sunday’s game.

They led 1-0 after the first, 2-1 after the second and pulled away in the third. The green-clad fans among the 6,127 fans in Grand Casino Arena gave UND a standing ovation for the final 20 seconds.

“There were lots of good North Dakota fans; we were pumped to see them,” Jackson said. “We felt pretty fortunate to have that support. It felt like a home game for us. It was nice to play well for them.”

UND’s depth was evident against the Tommies.

UND scored 11 goals in the series sweep, all from different players. Eleven players are averaging a point per game and 15 have tallied points.

“If you look at our roster and how we’re playing right now, you can put any single guy on our team in any situation — and it shows,” Wiebe said. “Look at our fourth line. I think they’ve been our best line with (Josh) Zakreski, (Cody) Croal and (Cade) Littler. We have all the pieces to do the right thing. We just have to continue that.”

Another sign of UND’s depth: With defenseman E.J. Emery returning to the lineup Sunday after missing the season-opener with a lower-body injury, the Fighting Hawks were forced to scratch defenseman Sam Laurila, a United States Hockey League Defenseman of the Year finalist.

“We’re so deep in my opinion,” Zellers said. “We have troopers who aren’t playing. They’re being great teammates. I bet if you go to 80% of other schools, they’re top-six guys, top-four (defenders). So, we’re a really good team and we’re really deep. The sky’s the limit for us. We’re just getting into it.”

UND didn’t get a power-play opportunity until the third period Sunday, but scored on both. The Fighting Hawks went 4-for-6 on the power play in the series.

Goaltender Gibson Homer turned in another strong performance, stopping 25 of 27 shots. He finished the weekend with a .923 save percentage.

“He was one of our best players this whole week,” Zellers said. “He stood on his head and made some incredible saves. Having him back there for sure boosts our team’s confidence.”

UND got off to a quick start when Livanavage set up Reschny for a one-timer at 6:49 of the first.

The teams traded goals in the second.

St. Thomas captain Lucas Wahlin scored a power-play goal to tie it at 4:30, but UND answered within four minutes. Wiebe sniped one from the left point after a strong cycle by the Littler line.

Rickwood, a Clarkson transfer, scored his first UND goal at 4:12 of the third to make it 3-1. St. Thomas made it 3-2 on a goal by Ryan O’Neill at 6:29. But Zellers buried a Rickwood feed for his first UND goal just 21 seconds later to regain a two-goal advantage.

Zellers, a childhood UND fan, celebrated his goal along the boards with the UND fans.

He had a cheering section of about 20 people, including former teammates, his parents and their friends.

“It was pretty special to get the first goal in a UND jersey,” Zellers said.

Livanavage finished it with a power-play goal at 12:36.

“When you’re winning, everyone wants to contribute,” Rickwood said. “You’ve got guys diving in front of pucks. Everyone is scoring and things are going great right now. Everyone is clicking so far.”

Last season, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference struggled in nonconference play, leading to just two teams qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

UND was a part of that, going 5-5-1 out of league.

“You can’t get them back if you don’t do a good job on them,” Jackson said. “It just kind of nags you and pulls you down. We talked a lot about it. We knew the importance. Everybody was well aware. So, that was good recognition by the guys. Now, we have to re-focus, move on and get ready for Minnesota next weekend.”